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judy smith Jun 2015
To beat the blues, declutter the mind and trim that waistline... there are far more reasons to stay hydrated than to quench the thirst. Here's how to do it...

Hydration is central to the most basic physiological functions of the body such as regulating BP and body temperature, blood circulation and digestion. But having enough water is one thing and keeping the body well hydrated another. Hydration comes not just from sipping water but from a diet high on water. One needs to have a variety of fruits and vegetables that have a naturally high water content to replenish the electrolytes in scorching summer.

EAT YOUR WATER

"The primary way of hydration is drinking plenty of clean water ******, but about 20 per cent of our intake comes from foods, especially fruits, vegetables, drinks and broths. Hydrating food not only corrects the water balance but also replaces essential salts and minerals," adds Manjari Chandra, therapeutic nutritionist. Aqua foods provide volume and weight but not calories. Grapefruit, for example, is about 90 per cent water and half a grapefruit has just 37 calories. High water greens and fruits contain essential vitamins and minerals, bioflavonoids (compounds believed to prevent heart disease) and antioxidants that slow down the aging process. They are also high in fibre, which keeps you feeling full for longer and helps the digestive system run efficiently. They can provide al most all vitamins and minerals and correct nutrient deficiencies.

WEIGHT WATCHERS

If you thought the list of hydrating foods ends with the usual suspects like cucumbers, watermelons and tomatoes, you are wrong. Some offbeat natural hydrators include leeks, spinach, peppers, carrots and celery. In fact, celery comprises mostly water... qualifying as a great snacking option. It can also curb sweet tooth cravings, which will help you stay slim and keep away from acidic sweets. "Eggplants are a fabulous weight loss kitchen staple. This versatile ingredient has low calories and is rich in fibre that boosts satiety. Grape fruit has been hailed as a weightloss superfood globally for its cardio protective, antioxidant and appetite-sup pressing qualities. This high fibre, juicy fruit has the ability to lower blood sugar levels and control a voracious appetite," says Jia Singh, travel, food and wellness writer.

MOOD AND MIND

People usually don't consider water as a mood enhancer. However, studies have proved otherwise. Even mild dehydration can alter a person's mood, energy levels, and ability to think clearly, according to two studies by the University of Connecticut's Human Performance Laboratory. Mild dehydration is defined as an approximately 1.5 per cent loss in normal water volume in the body. It is important to stay properly hydrated at all times, not just during exercise, extreme heat, or exertion. This is because water gives the brain the electrical energy for all t, its functions, including r thought and memory processes. When your brain is functioning on a full reserve of water, you will be able to think faster, be more focused, and experience clarity and creativity.

MUSCLE POWER

We all know the importance of exercising, getting enough protein, calories and rest in order to build muscles.But water consumption is as important for muscle wellness and lubrication of joints. Water composes 75 per cent of our muscle tissue! So, if your body's water content drops by as little as 2 per cent, you will feel fatigued. If it drops by 10 per cent, you may experience health problems, such as arthritis and back pain. When you're well hydrated, water provides nutrients to the muscles and removes waste so that you perform better.

TOP SUMMER HYDRATORS

Strawberries: They rank highest in water content in comparison to all other berries. Berries are powerhouses of antioxidants that are cardio protective, good for your eyes, skin and nails and even help prevent inflammation and chronic illnesses.

Carrots: They are almost 90 per cent water, are rich sources of vitamin A and C and have tons of betacarotene that keep cancer at bay.

Zucchini: Zucchini is a popular summer squash made of 95% water. It is a good source of dietary fibre, vitamin A, C and K, folate, magnesium. It is best to use it fresh and raw in salads because cooking leads to loss of water.

Bell Peppers: Sweet bell peppers are amongst the veg gies with the highest water content. They are also a great source of vitamin C.

Iceberg lettuce: Health experts often rec ommend substituting it with darker greens like spinach or romaine lettuce for higher amounts of fibre and nutrients such as folate and vitamin K. It's a different story, however, when it comes to water content. Crispy ice berg has the highest amount of water amongst the lettuce family.

Spinach: It may not be as hydrating as iceberg lettuce, but spinach is usually a bet ter bet overall. The leafy vegetable is rich in lutein, potassium, fibre, and brain-boosting folate.Read more here:www.marieaustralia.com/bridesmaid-dresses | www.marieaustralia.com/short-formal-dresses
SPRING
Spring is the king of the seasons
Ugadi is the first of the festivals
We wear new clothes
And eat delicious broths
Mother prepares the customary mango pickle
Father worships the sickle
Nature is in her full bloom
There is no room for any gloom
The cuckoo sings early in the morning
The farmer is ready for harvesting
There are new born leaves
And pleasant breezes
Every tree has a flower
There is flowing water in the river
The wind blows very softly
The birds fly very swiftly
The winter was very cold
But the spring is very beautiful to behold
Ugadi brings in new hopes
The farmer depends on yearly crops
May this new year bring in peace!
I am able to write a poetic piece
by JVL NARASIMHA  RAO
Laurel Elizabeth Nov 2013
He is my least favorite vegetable.
                                                   
                       No amount or level of preparation makes him taste better:
Boiling-
brings out his bulbous, insipid ego
the texture of his flamboyant ignorance.

when I timorously sip him in soups or broths,
his oozing insidious misogyny
contaminates my blissful dining, contorts any ingredients still pure.

I fry him, striving to remove the  
excess of impertinence which
permeates the oxygen I feebly inhale.
but he evades my maneuvers:
usurps bliss and violates all semblance of tranquility

I cannot prevail
against the throb of his assaulting narcissism

I must instead attempt
to comment
(arduously, fraudulently)
on the delicate iridescence of his silkily mucoused membranes
and admire deftly
his indefatigable ventures to pervade my
every.
serenity.
Mateuš Conrad Oct 2015
or like today, almost any other day like today,
but today i matched up two analogies
with cooking;
i once only stated that doing organic chemistry experiments
were like cooking,
broths of sweets and sours (esters and ammonia compounds
respectively) -
they did seem so at the time and still are,
while smashing vegetables dipped in liquid nitrogen against
the laboratory floor,
but today, almost like any other day like today
i started cooking a chicken makhani (indian butter chicken),
past the stage of frying onions, garlic-ginger paste,
past adding the spices: garam masala ground cumin chilli powder
cayenne pepper salt & pepper,
past the stage of adding butter, milk and crème fraîche,
and chopped tomatoes,
past the stage of then dipping the chicken in to let it poach for
more tenderness than if fried prior (as the recipe suggested),
then... when i noticed the spice colours diluted by the dairy ingredients
i peered into the culinary warlock’s cauldron and uttered
what fiction critics would have said of a bestseller spy novel...
‘mmm... the plot thickens.’
side dish? lemon rice.
Neobotanist Aug 2021
eating figs
eating ***
eating flesh

i swim through my mother's veins
and peel back layers,
distinctly feminine.

i see me.
i feel me.
i taste me.

we hold delicate
yet strong and vibrant lovers
in our mouths,
inflated candy eggs—cosmic nectar.

foolishly gazing at our sordid massacres:
flesh upon flesh
seed upon fleshy seed

visions of nightquests
sing-songing liquidly

i vanish into wormholes,
fiery transformations,
and bitter leaves,
which weep through silver pores.

feverishly, we pick apart the stems,
dropping them away.
hurry, hurry!
we're so impatient to get these figs
into our mouths.

heads crane forward
and tongues ****** first.
hands follow, fingers last.
crush down once, thrice
on earth maternal—
it's not juice, it's cream.

siddhis speculatively come forward
and burn triangle patterns behind our eyelids.
she is freed again from past recollections,
elegantly fighting off disease—cellularly—while drumming solos,
gnashing figs,
and caressing twigs with toes.

i invite you to breathe me in—
soft, solid air,
stale with anticipation
but honey-lemon sweet,
and empty besides.

we pour sweet broths into banana-leaf cups
and drink beetles out of sugarcones,
traces of ectoplasm dribbling down our chins,
violetly forgetting the echoes of
peppermint vapors,
and nourishing our bellies
with heavy, pregnant plant mothers.

i long for excess,
and i can never get enough.
besides,
it is the summer of figs,
and we cry openly
at the beads of sweat
forever forming on glassy surfaces.

i taste-touch with my fingers
and feel-taste with my tongue,
and still i feel that we aren't close enough,
so i invite it to enter me and become me,
and now
i am fig.

it's as if the cilia-seeds
and tender pink spots
expect the pressure.

it's true:
we expect this solid, gravitational pressure
and they rip off wings,
just to bathe in our nectar.

she hadn't known true ecstasy
until this violation of figs,
until her madness imploded secretly
like their demure insides,
and all she could think about
was jelly pulp and pale achenes.

so saccharine, you say,
wiping your mouth with a sticky hand,
and wiping your hand on stiff denim,
but really there's even more sweet to come later.

green-plump
violet-plump
pink-pulp
swallow

i hear it before my ears do.
i see it before my eyes do.

i swimmingly tesselate
and wade through the liquid air,
particles dissolving around me.

there's some give,
and i'm able, you see,
to be here in this palace of
pent-up pleasures and lastly,
comes stillness.

she weeps hatred from her body
so it doesn't seep
into her half-digested fig:
the fig of all figs.

caked with dried mud and chocolate,
we emerge
and fall off effortlessly
into angles of light.

dust rises like a prism
along pre-choreographed
provocations of smoke—
steps cascading for spirits of anjeer
to patter down
into our realm.

feed me, they say.
and so we do.

we break open the figs
with childish fingers,
tasting before offering
on little plates carved out of spoons,
melting coconut lashes and spidermilk
in the process.

the oven creaks quietly,
and raindrops lift gauzy veils
from drowsy eyelids
on sleepy mornings.

pulling waterwords
from unification,
fiery feelings die down
until they're just a glimmer—
a glimmer of softness,
with wet embers tantalizingly
dripping fireworks,
like childhood.

waves murmur something secret,
and the whispers only take 5,000 years
before they reach your ears,
yet you still startle and awaken,
sweat on the brow,
and glisten your way through,
splashing sloppily through
paper screens
to deliver messages.

iron tea kettles sit in dying ashes for far too long.

in my visions,
i saw ripe, bursting figs
hurtling across starlit skies,
blossoming beautifully
before dropping heavily and with sound.

and suddenly it was summer—
radiant, glowing summer—
with our skin dissolving upwards
in the golden heat,
sparkling dramatically
in the decaying light.

i wanted to pull something out of me
but the strings were tied to my organs.

slippery insides meant less danger,
so we tiptoed on grains of sand
and grains of rice,
and black beads,
and black beans,
and pearls,
and magnets.

we tripped through hours,
while minutes crawled to a close,
and sifted fine blue watersilk
until it exploded with mollusks.

i am a clam
and you are a gallon of fir tree sap,
delivered every wednesday,
to embellish our
fried and crispy things.

almond-shaped plumes and
majestic, purple heliochromes
blaze saturn rings coldly,
while the fruit falls apart—
first at the center—
and our gaze lingers on mother:
she is
dancing,
and dancing.
Oliver Philip Jan 2019
An ABCDERIAN of soups
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As an application for the post of ~
       Castle Sou Chef and would be Laureate
Below stairs a Sou Chef most extra ordinary
       Is required. ( Only stupid need apply)
Candidates must be most experienced and
      Inspiring without pride ,prejudice or ego.
Dedicated to the daily soup production and
      Miles and miles of uplifting prose for all
Each and every day, three sessions per day
      Without interruption or failure to amuse
For with failure comes “Death by be heading “
      No second chances , there’s no way out.
Granted this post has never been filled ,
     No applications have ever been received.
Hundreds of sad Sou i cidal people have tried
      To apply but their poetry was *******.
I think they were happy with the risk of failure
       It must have played a part I guess.
Joking with the chief jailer ,had this Poet with.
      His finger to write with ink in the dust
Kings loved this kind of justice, killing two birds
      Poets and Sou chefs with a single stone.
Like as if any poet could be a Sou chef
      With his head always in the clouds ?
Might I then hand this condemned Poet a life-
        Line with an aid of ABCDERIAN of soups .
Now to enable him to list by heart a few soups
        And produce a winning Anthology ~
Olives, Omelette, Onions , Oranges all make
       Special soups and very special soups too.
Pakchoi,Panchetta, Parsley,Parsnips,Pasta,
       Peas , Peppers and pretty purple prose.
Quick soups, slow soups,Pork and potatoes
       Poultry,Prawns in barley , even prunes.
Radicchio, Rice,Rosemary, roasted lamb shank
       Indeed a hundred and one different broths
Soups of the Mediterranean,Seafood ,Salsa,
         Samosas or simply left over sausages.
Thai chicken noodle,stir fry bean sprouts,
       Thyme, tofu or even mention Tuscan bean
Using recipes from around the World over a
       Thousand days ,should allay the AXE.
Vegetables both hot or cold ,sour or sweet
  Can be produced from,Knowledge of vinegar
Wild mushrooms grow in every corner of the
     Castle inside the walls and without
Xanadu can thence become the paradise a
       Poet seeks as long as he can stand damp
Yes poet if you can’t stand the damp try to get
    Into an  unbearable heat of the Kitchen.
Zucchini (or courgettes as you know them)
     May bring this poem to a close. Now Apply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Written by Philip
December 14th 2018.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


P
An ABCDERIAN of soups from a desperate man.
Mateuš Conrad Sep 2017
disclaimer: i had to change the title, the original was... arsenal of "nukes" / morse code conceptualisation of sudoku - but i had a stunning revelation at the end of this verse.

-------------------------------------------

what?! me order indian take away?! what do you have me for, a ****** charlatan? americans have their arsenal of nukes, the russians have their arsenal of nukes: me? i have my arsenal of indian spices! beat that: yoo muvva faa'kers! (you know, said as that chinese guy says it, in the first hangover movie).

i.

finally! i found the holy grail of the indian cuisine,
not so much a website that has all the recipes,
rather: it's a dictionary of all the various
curry broths... cook4one.co.uk -
one you have the lingua coquus -
the lingo of what's what - mind you -
i'm like a "mujahideen", in that i know
only singled out words of "arabic"
and am convinced that i'll be bilingual
to fully embrace the jihad,
although i'm neither, hence the inverted
commas,
  let's just say: i overshot the mark,
and landed in india, and am not recreating
a chemical experiment:
thinking - **** me, a bit humid 'ere,
in goa?
  so the mujahideen's arabic is like my
sanskrit...
but then again: i abide by culinary,
rather than theocratic nouns -
  and i'm already bilingual -
i pity those english monolingual
cripples who went off to syria, i really do,
might as well chop off their tongues:
and sit them in a wheelchair,
and teach them arabic in sign-language...
these "warriors of allah" are nothing
but a ****** farce... if you going to fight
for a cause like that: at least speak
the ****** language...
  or, as the english say: go back home!
good point, born in poland, but living
in england for 23 years...
where's home?
           wait wait, let me get my copernican
compass out...
      well... you'd be glad to know:
my home is in the bermuda delta -
****** keeps spinning like a sufi dervish.

anyway, today of all days, two curries,
turmeric infused rice (yellow, always
nice to spot canary maggots),
and? JAH PAAAA TÍ!
**** the difference in flower...
  what was i using?
   chakki atta (pilsburg group) -
so soft, so tender, so mmm: yom...
  last week i messed the dough:
******! you pour in the warm water gradually...
thank god i saved my reputation
as the curry boss of the household...
and as i usually do with dough...
treat it like a punch bag, can't be bothered
kneading the dough, so i punch it.

the curries? ooh... beauties...
for one it was cayenne pepper rather than
chilli powder...

garam masala in both,
which i had to made from scratch...
do you really add turmeric and omit
adding cinnamon? i can't remember.

the first? (oi oi, 'ere comes my "mujahideen"
lingo in sanskrit)
  a passada chicken curry... almost a korma
but not quite...
     i just remember bashing
raisins in the pestle & mortar, adding almost,
not using any tomatoes,
   inviting chicken stock... etc. etc.

the second curry? a chicken saag -
the etymological derivative being?
   saag: a general term for tender green leaves
(such as spinach)...
    walking into an indian kitchen is probably
more intoxicating than walking
into a parisian perfumery,
                         or a jewish bakery;
said what i had to say, and that's that.

ii.

now, could it really have been a day when
i wouldn't have attempted, yet another,
reconceptualisation of a sudoku puzzle? no.
began as usual:

6 4 1 2 3 7 9 5 8
3 5 2 8 6 9 1 7 4
9 7 8 1 4 5 2 3 6
8 3 4 9 7 1 6 2 5
5 6 9 4 2 3 8 1 7
1 2 7 5 8 6 4 9 3
7 1 5 6 9 4 3 8 2
4 8 3 7 1 2 ι Δ ε
2 9 6 3 5 8 7 α 1  (ι = 5, Δ = 6, ε = 9
                           and α = 4 -
total? 24, the number of letters
in the greek alphabet,
as there are, hours in the day:
no wonder people back then
conjured up a "year 0" -
which actually makes the modern
day stoners, looks extremely
lazy when it comes to whacky
ideas);

but that gave me the idea of trying
another interpretation of this
japanese phone-book...

  how about morse code? to visualise
things... and how the numbers
lodge themselves in the 9 x 9 x 9 (729) box...
i see this 2D puzzle as 3D, oops...
so it came about - yielding the pen and
original zenith of concept, the hashtag (#)...
   (algebraic for end pin-point + insertion):

1a. | | − x
   1b. − − | y

     2a. − − y
   2b. | | x

     3a. − | x
   3b. |  − y

4a. □ − |
4b. □ | −
  4c. □ | |
4d. □ − −

  which begs the question...
    why would you need to invent braille...
if you already had the morse code?
  
at certain events people are competing
in spelling matches... so...
isn't the morse code a lot easier than
braille?! eh?!

i mean, god really is playing chess,
when he's reading braille...

−− −−− ·−· ··· · | ·· ··· | · ·− ··· ·· · ·−· |
− ···· ·− −· | −··· ·−· ·· ·−·· ·−·· ·


       don't you think?
and to think: a drunkard conjured this up;
ah... smoke 'em while ye got 'em.
Ignatius Hosiana May 2016
We're all
clowns from the same book
Broths from the same cook
different views of the same look
each of us a radioactive nuc


We're all
idiots from the same play
pottery from the same clay
eggs the world's the tray
same sun we're the rays


We're all
puppies from the same *****
enchantment from the same witch
poor or rich,there or yet to reach
we're all sands on the same beach


We're all
roads to the same town
birds of the same dawn
melancholy for the same frown
kings & queens to the same crown


**one thing remains,
through joy & pains
losses or ****** gains
same corn,different grains
Mateuš Conrad Sep 2017
two points worth considering,
as to a why...

a. the pseudo-mujahideens of
syria, these brits?
*****, please...
  they're speaking scrap heap
arabic
... they're collateral
"damage"...
another few picks at
the radish patch of growth,
twice as disposable as
the most ******* arabic
speaker...
   all they cite is scrap heap arabic,
a few words there and then
nowhere with the "little"
words akin to al- (i.e. the) missing...
scrap heap arabic, yoda master,
speak! yes young padawan:
they speak;
ha ha...
too eager to chop a head off,
rather than cut off their "oppressor's"
tongue, and insert their
"liberator's tongue"...
kinda ******, don't you think,
could find as much jihadi ambition
in a landfill site,
had i the ambition to learn arabic:
but i glut glut glut glot glot
  gagging don't think so...
macabre - or in marocco?
          just the q will do.
the jews? oh, they're not safe
from my critique either...
  they wandered for 40 years
in a desert, and 2000+ years in
the desert of virus-like ideas...
diseased in their kabbalistic
"mysticism" of practicing gematria:
that assyro-greco-babylonian
"system"...
come on shlomo: keep up!
you just learn the ***'s way of thinking,
and i'm sure you will see
a clearer picture!
            focus less on the tetragrammaton
and more on the kaaba...
  the cube on a thin page of paper...
and then do what i do:
insert your own word at the end
of solving the puzzle,
  you choose...
    as you already know,
the last one i inserted was | ·· −·· · ·− |,
you've become what the christians
and muslims call the "pagans"...
polytheists... but **** me do they
gobble down the blue indians' broths...
learn some japanese fiddling though,
forget the assyro-greco-babylon of
your "supposed" "mysticism":
nietzsche was wrong,
god did die, but your mysticism did,
sure as deep-fried **** nuggets...
spice it up a little,
      you're not going to survive with
this ancient, out-dated and worth
a dodo crown of "invigoration" -
ha shem does not deserve this blatant
bogus plagiarism...
   learn the shinto way of "gematria":
start investigating scatter brain
via a sudoku, and ending the puzzle
with your choice of letters for numbers...
stop this profane arithmetic of:
so i say a = 1 and b = 2...
    baa baa black sheep =
      4 + 4 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 11 + 12 + 10 + 16 +
   8 + 20 = 91...
   and that, tells me what?
that's what i found the study of kabbalah
to be so pivotal in being annoying...
that it wasn't a jewish invention...
     and as to why it was picked up
with such ferocity by the jews...
personally?
   you're better off moving it into
japanese optics...  
    there's nothing to learn from the current
orthodoxy... least to say:
i didn't learn anything,
         why would you?
madonna might, with her red thread
of cotton to assert: cult...
    all i said was:
   insert a word of whatever length you
find appealing when finishing
a sudoku puzzle:
letter first, number second...
         what will this reveal?
dunno...
  probably a personal "grievance"
associated with...
    certainly not a segment of some
"unsolvable" puzzle...
      +, it might show you a 9 x 9 x 9
    cube, within a 9 x 9 square;
so... win win, either way;
the christian "mystery" is already exhausted,
no matter how many hail mary's
you recite: your thought can't turn
into white tadpoles...
we already know that telekinesis doesn't
exist, who why would it exist
in a reproductive manner?
  can't move a cow by simply thinking
you "can" move it...
same ****, different cover with:
paddy paddy gracious oh all saints and
the brothel of thought that's
the "******" mary;
   brothel of thought,
however you like to think of it, otherwise.
Oliver Philip Dec 2018
An ABCDERIAN of soups
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As an application for the post of ~
       Castle Sou Chef and would be Laureate
Below stairs a Sou Chef most extra ordinary
       Is required. ( Only stupid need apply)
Candidates must be most experienced and
      Inspiring without pride ,prejudice or ego.
Dedicated to the daily soup production and
      Miles and miles of uplifting prose for all
Each and every day, three sessions per day
      Without interruption or failure to amuse
For with failure comes “Death by be heading “
      No second chances , there’s no way out.
Granted this post has never been filled ,
     No applications have ever been received.
Hundreds of sad Sou i cidal people have tried
      To apply but their poetry was *******.
I think they were happy with the risk of failure
       It must have played a part I guess.
Joking with the chief jailer ,had this Poet with.
      His finger to write with ink in the dust
Kings loved this kind of justice, killing two birds
      Poets and Sou chefs with a single stone.
Like as if any poet could be a Sou chef
      With his head always in the clouds ?
Might I then hand this condemned Poet a life-
        Line with an aid of ABCDERIAN of soups .
Now to enable him to list by heart a few soups
        And produce a winning Anthology ~
Olives, Omelette, Onions , Oranges all make
       Special soups and very special soups too.
Pakchoi,Panchetta, Parsley,Parsnips,Pasta,
       Peas , Peppers and pretty purple prose.
Quick soups, slow soups,Pork and potatoes
       Poultry,Prawns in barley , even prunes.
Radicchio, Rice,Rosemary, roasted lamb shank
       Indeed a hundred and one different broths
Soups of the Mediterranean,Seafood ,Salsa,
         Samosas or simply left over sausages.
Thai chicken noodle,stir fry bean sprouts,
       Thyme, tofu or even mention Tuscan bean
Using recipes from around the World over a
       Thousand days ,should allay the AXE.
Vegetables both hot or cold ,sour or sweet
  Can be produced from,Knowledge of vinegar
Wild mushrooms grow in every corner of the
     Castle inside the walls and without
Xanadu can thence become the paradise a
       Poet seeks as long as he can stand damp
Yes poet if you can’t stand the damp try to get
    Into an  unbearable heat of the Kitchen.
Zucchini (or courgettes as you know them)
     May bring this poem to a close. Now Apply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Written by Philip
December 14th 2018.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A true story of man’s struggle to overcome adversity
Flaws Apr 2017
A pantry of unopened cans
And dried goods
going bad
Peaches and oranges
Rotting
Growing mold
Fragrances of spoiled sustenance
Crawl across the distilled air
And penetrate my nostrils
I've wasted these things
Wasted time and money
In hopes my appetite would return
And that I could enjoy the sweet juices and broths that'd provide for a body now aching
Consuming itself
Rotting like moldy peaches and oranges
But time has passed
They're no longer healthy
And I suffer in their presence
In their absence
In my own negligence
bill Hancock Jan 2021
A collection of poetic writings
Of questionable mastery

THE

FIRST TOME










There are many forms and styles
Of poetic expression that I am
Just beginning to be introduced to
And understand

A number were written prior to my joining the
All Poetry site and beginning my education

To me, poetry is rhyme and rhythm, but
It has form, as I have learnt.

This booklet will only allow 16 pages
Of which this is the second, so
The remaining 14 will carry a number of
Pre All Poetry, and post All Poetry
And hopefully you may perceive
An improvement









AMERICAN SUMMER

A Blackmans death, caused by police
Subsumes the brain, and reason kills
And primal animal contained, released
To the world displays their ills

Subsumes the brain, and reason kills
Property garners but scant regards
To the world displays their ills
Respect of any, is shattered shards

Property garners but scant regards
As need to possess, over rides all else
Respect of any, is shattered in shards
It’s take what you can, from any shelf

As need to possess, over rides all else
The reason for the riot is lost
Its take what you can from any shelf
The black man’s life

The reason for the riot is lost
As other feelings rule the mind
At looting time it’s free of cost
As Humanity leaves civilisation behind

As other feelings rule the mind
Mankind gone feral, no longer smart
As humanity leaves civilisation behind
A blackman’s dying, tore life apart








AGES OF MAN

A stage, they say a joke that is
A plank upon the ground
Players they say, the people is
They’ll beat you pound for pound

Their entrances and exits,
will keep unto themselves
and as for seven ages
that’s what this story tells

man begins all worm like
a kid a useless thing
poops, and pukes and whines a lot
and doesn’t earn a thing

Schoolboys next, Oh! God forbid
Why did we make this one
It must have been that point in time
When I did some stuff for fun

The lover , ah!, my ***** did melt
A poet he did try
The effect upon the mistress’s brow
Did make the eyebrow cry

The military man, so full of spit
And polish at the fore
Did play his part, with bearded kit
And veered the cannons gore

Age number six has changed the scope
To a lean and loudly man
Whose time is on the downward *****
And no longer in the van

Seven ages man will glory in
Not all we wish to recall
Love and home, and wondrous sin
As begun will finish small







Bedtime Story (Homework No 5 Pantoum

The child did love their bedtime read
With granddad sitting on the bed
The Knight & hero’s rearing steed
And in the story her childhood shed

With grandad sitting on the bed
The hero’s steed went racing past
And in the story her childhood shed
The royal queen she came at last

The hero’s steed went racing past
And stopped the dragon there and then
The royal queen she came at last
Helped herd the beast back to its pen

And stopped the dragon there and then
From having chook and pig repast
Helped herd the beast back to its pen
And granddad closed the book at last

From having chook and pig repast
The story ran down to the end
And granddad closed the book at last
The next book read, the child would lend

The story ran down to the end
No further words left to be said
The next book read the child would lend
With granddad sitting on the bed







Christmas Thought

We gather here on Christmas eve
to share part of the joy
2000 years ago this day
Mary would have a boy

that day affirmed mans place in life
the woman to her chores
and life upon this blissful earth
was governed by mans laws

years have past and times have changed
relationships are growing
of woman's emergence from the home
into the place of knowing

who knows what life would have been like
if Mary had, had a girl
would have have held his rightful place
or ended up a churl

no matter how it would have been
it is, as it is, to-day
kinds thoughts & joy to all mankind
with love on Christmas day

the feeling of love to all mankind
its stay is rather short
there is no place for thoughts like that
in a world where wars are fought

life's hard cruel lessons, shut us in
we dare not - extend or feel
until that time round Christmas eve
when we give thanks, as we pray and kneel

William Hancock penned: 20.12.82 (pre AP)


Faerie Symphony

brushing his fingers across the glistening crystals
produced a cacophony of harsh discordant notes
rebounding off the caverns walls and music thoughts did smote
Placing hands upon the crystals, calming down the thrum
fingers selecting differing lengths, did flex and start to drum
harmony like butterflies, did rise as motes in light
traversing down the caverns walls and drifting to the night
outside the valley trembled, uplifted, and it sighed
the gentle folk looked inwardly, but outwardly they cried
taking his fingers from the glistening crystals,
they died



LITTLE MISS MUFFET

Miss Muffet was a comely girl
and turned the heads of most
But wouldn't share her curds and whey
A really dreadful host

The field held an eight legged beast
Whose local name was schnider
He managed to get her curds and whey
when he went and sat beside her

It is better to share than to lose it all

Bill Hancock
07.04.2020


Fates Feast
watching his body, sink slowly into the tree
this I laughed is your, reward deserved for jilting me
laughed again, and watched his unmatched beauty fade
realised too late, the wastefulness of mistake I've made

the prince his body slowly turned, to timber light and fair
wondered sinking further in, I really thought she cared
I courted her with flowers and commented on her hair 
It seems I would have better luck, If I had spoken to the bear

Revenge the forest maiden, reeked on the prince in spades
now he was ever with her, part of the forest glade
her demands she thought were simple, leave all and live with me
and feast upon the passersby for dinner lunch and tea

the prince he was a vegan who tried to sway her round
made out greens were good for her, beat meat, by the pound
the maidens heart was broken, in tatters lay her dream
when he refused, ensorcelled him into the forest green

These days on paths less travelled, in the forest down the way
a magnificent tree stands from the rest, its beauty on display
Not many pass it anymore, as they say it's haunted still
By the soul of the forest maiden, who died lonely on the hill









Hiccup of the Mind

Have you ever tapped the keyboard
Then looked at what was written
accessing where the thoughts were stored
And found the rhyming process stricken

Panic doesn't quite occur
Between the ears, a blank
words to page no longer purr
Encyclopedic knowledge sank

leave the keyboard and the chair
a glass with ice and liquid gold
Sip and savour, ceiling stare
berate ones self and blank mind scold

From off left field, revelation comes
fingers keyboarding begins again
The words you're reading are the sum
For from out of mind, letters do rain

Bad Location

Do they consider me
I don't think so
Other wise they wouldn't
Stand where they stand

Think of what it means
to be a tree
try to imagine where 
my fingers are

The girl is standing on them
I choose this spot
For the solitude it promised
****** tourists



Macbeths Misadventure

(a parody of Bill Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the three witches brew a spell)

Macbeth whilst travelling stopped at the pub
A cauldron and three hats on the sign
Had heard from others how good was the grub
And entered with drink and a stew in mind

The cooks, three weathered crones did strive
To keep the patrons upright and live
this struggle you know was a hapless one
already knowing what went in the drum

Newt and frog and dog and bat
The first crone donned a pointed hat
Snake and adder worm and wing
The second crone donned the apron strings

Toad and venom, entrails too
The third crone added nightshade brew
Double trouble, don’t add no more
The broths near walking out the door

a steaming *** was served Macbeth
the sight of which removed his breath
The vapours turned his nose hairs green
His liver hid behind his spleen

A mouthful made his eyelids quiver
His entrails turned into a river
His mind did cartwheels in his head
Two mouthfuls and he’d be stone dead

Refusing nicely, he said had troubles
Left a tip, he paid them double
Listen not what others say
And live to see another day



The Musician

Resting her body on the chaired podium
And leaning slightly down to the left
Her fingers caressed the highly polished surface
Of the Cello

Left hand clasping the frets
And the right hand wielding the bow
She addressed the strings with a gentle wave
And made the music flow

Somber, sounds, moaned off the instrument
Quickening and they rose in tone and pitch
Wrapping around the chamber
In a haunting hugging melody

Rising, rushing, falling and softening
Harsh and hard, then silent, but wait
Hand twitches and the refrain returns
Only to die again, as the hand falls away

Returning the cello to its resting place
And the bow into its niche
Her hand runs gently over the polished timber
The caress of a lover and friend


The Book

A thing that comes in black and White
and some times in colours as well
with words and concepts, one can write
scenes and stories, in minds to dwell

it's such a simple seeming thing
two covers, some pages between
with words that have the authors ring
Fact or fiction the reader gleans

A simple start on bark or stick
or was it paint upon a wall
to carvings on stone walls and brick
waiting discovery, then tell all

today we progress further still
into the realm of digital times
where phone or tablet makes the ****
and hand held printed book declines

regardless of the current trend
hand held books are still much loved
and continue to be there to lend
for as long as man can use a pen



© a month ago, Bill Hancock











The Lizard Slithered

Crawling stealthy below the leaves
eyeing insects upon the trees
mosquito's winging with the breeze
the lizard slithered - tongue flicked free

eyeing insects upon the trees
climbing tree's to gain it's dinner
the lizard slithered - tongue flicked free
it must eat or grow much thinner

climbing tree's to gain its dinner
mosquito's high upon its list
it must eat or grow much thinner
though beetles added meaty grist

mosquito's high upon its list
the lizards belly filling fast
though beetles added meaty grist
none of its food was made to last

the lizards belly filling fast
cold air came calling in the breeze
none of its food was made to last
the lizard slithered - tongue flicked free


cm coli picture prompt lizard slithered 120 words © a month ago, Bill Hancock   rhyme










Wordsmiths Hey

Have you ever wondered of poets
And the things they do try to write
Does it take, five minutes of writing
Or four candles worth, into the night

does the theme come from somebody social
or seeps out from ones deep inner dark
or comments from words thrown out vocal
from jibes that like barbs hit their mark

the words from mind's vault, start to line up
some jumbled, some straight, others curved
with a headiness, like good wine that's supped
A poet's souls being readied to serve

After theme, then the style is selected
And if rhyme, then the rhythm as well
If the endings or rhymes not connected
It's the poets, equivalent of hell

If freestyle, I'm not sure what matters
If Haiku, it don't ring a bell
There's others I have no idea of
Is it write, to write or to sell

A poet is plagued as a wordsmith
as their thoughts, are constant, a stream
the ink on the page, like, a musicians riff
is the success, or failure of dreams




The Caretaker

astride the gentle steed of nature
the nymph did guide its sharp beak home
into the golden hued ambrosia
around the outskirts insects roamed

The summer lady adorned with flowers
kept a watchful eye on the little nymph
as she passed her special gift, her powers
to her assistants, the brownie, pixie and slyth

The brownie ran through the Forrest floor
her touch bringing the summer buds to bloom
knocking on the animals doors
their seed collection, a promised boon

the pixie sprang from branch and flower
spreading colour of many a hue
For such was the summer ladies power
and she touched and shared where it was due

the slyth began her eternal sigh
lifting the new seed into the air
to get it planted, before the cry
the Queen of winter, it's now her care

the four continued their epic task
for none of the seasons last for long
The plants only had so long to bask
As autumn commenced to croon its song

the seasons play their role in nature
not one does stand alone
each one portrays a different stature
if one fails, nothing grown

Contest PIC;Pixie astride hummingbird lady looking on
© 3 months ago, Bill Hancock



New Australian

They came into Australia
from places far and wide
where the system failed you
no further place to hide

sailed into, the North Head Bay
Quarantine, into they go
diseases of, they must be clean
The Physicers, make them so

Not all the migrants, survived the race
the souls, of expired bodies left
rooms and tunnels, claimed in place
which overtime, the live have left

Company, comes scarce these days
from haunting tourists, as they tread
the dark and errie, passageways
of the station, on north head


The quarantine station in SYDNEY Australia and New South Wales, was located on the bay inside the Northern Headland of the entrance into the Harbour

Immigrants (who became the New Australians) came with TB, Cholera Typhoid and the other known diseases of the late 1800 to early 1900's

The migrants had to spend time at the station until they showed to be symptom free. Sadly not all made it, and it is said that their souls / Spirits still occupy the tunnels, rooms and cottages of the old Quarantine  station to this present day - Ghost hunters regularly quest in there. It is also a tourist spot. © 12 minutes ago
Heres another wu banger watch the danger jaw arranger
Stranger than fiction pass jurisdiction Christen
Minds from the ointment of a nine shine deeply confined
Cause chaos like Jack Nick off the shine tingle spines
Every word I spit puts haters in line still smoke pines
Trees enjoy the breeze keep it windy flows Pepsi
Crispy with the flavors I rock check the tick tocks Glocks
Rock craniums perform in sold out stadiums podiums
Held like Bane shook the cane sourdough jack
Along with 14 loaves poisonous darts entered the globes
Dipstick the red ****** cloves replenish the self loathes
Big diamond worn on my clothes see my thoughts glow
Langston Hughes to Van Gogh pictures of a crow
**** what ya know we blow spots whips more *** than Joe yo








Check the baggy steelo fashion statement rate this
My performance like Tyson stinging blue hornets
Charlotte still holding a web watching over the pigs
See the thoughts dig a crazy froth from sizzlin' chicken broths
Souls up for ransom feeling like a new P E anthem
Yo address the state of the union see em in confusion
Master sensei fusion melanin activate cause bruisin'
Cruising with Smokey blazin' Robinson holding guns
See my critics is stun way pass number one my cons
Sitting like stages of Ramadon big fish navigatin' ponds
This is for the lost unseen vagabonds Nathan
Can compare to this dare truths to boost the youths tooth's
Chips over the raw hype see how many brothers sniped
Now they mad cuz the blacks emblems finna unite??
Tension rose the heights of a kite on ground or plain sights
Media picking fights with the black and white stereotypes
Cops infused uninformed old **** flags hold tilted unicorns
Switched from whites sheets with holes now they serving
Bullet holes conserve power at the polls see the gains roll
****** Reservoirs bleeding from America the great *****!!!!
Devon Brock Nov 2019
So smooth and piquant then. Remember?
Our love a puree of roots and bitters,
quick peppered, swift boiled
blobbed up and sulphurous.
Melting the ladle, melting the ***,
smoking the burner, firing
the whole **** kitchen down.

Yes, it still stings my lips,
***** on my uvula, something
never fully swallowed
but scorched on a hard palate,
peeling skin on the blistered roof
of a recollection.

It was tough then, I know,
making soup last for days,
for weeks, for years.
We were young then
and fond of quick eats,
grabbed before a cab
and shoveled whole,
gulped like a snake
teasing eggs -
unhinged and transient.

But savor these broths unclouded, love,
clear to the windmills, blue and Dutch
at the bottom of the bowl.
Draw the spoon, gentle and away,
lift and breathe softly, eyes closed,
and take what remains, what lingers
velvet on the buds and nourishing.
Yenson Oct 2021
We but pity the sellers of discontents
the stragglers from the lowlands
in fertilised inadequacy and talentless soil
carrying in lame hands glossed dirt of twisted minds
reeking unhappiness in distorted parcels they hawk envy baskets
stirring broths of miseries made from handed down family recipes
cooked on brimstones in hate kitchens they seek buyers
see the hot gloom they rustle up in doom
for sale at cost price or free
all they want is to share their miseries
Mateuš Conrad Jun 2020
alongside the songs herr mannelig
             and herr holger -
  garmarna...

     would you believe it...
i couldn't... holger: juniperus squamata...
juniper...
i don't quiete remember what's
it used for...

to have little ol' me bothered about...
view counts...
perhaps i'm being lazy...
    perhaps i'm... what's already available...

but i have a contender...
   hammock - ketonic... 2005...

and... godspeed you! black emperor...
F♯ A♯ ∞ -
       by god i still can't fathom
that this ever took place in 1998!

having to invest in 100 years...
as a sidenote: hopefully i do not come
out as a plagiarism within
the confines of your: gratefully... anonymous...

better things have come out
of canada than... rush or pearl jam...
if you can sieve half an hour...
F♯ A♯ ∞ is an album for you...

what is post-punk or post-rock...
  post-rock from radiohead?
    postponed prog-rock?
        godspeed you! black emperor...
the album came out in 1998...
i was still young and busying myself
with fan boy teen angst and tool...
i discovered...

              so mentioned...
a good... 18 years later...
                big things have happened in the world...
little things also...
greater things with a world-as-solo...
lesser things this these greater things
of so little... concern: for the greater world...

i want to mind them...
confine myself to: borrow from...
the grand arch of nouns...
call for a seamstress sophie...
and her love of... the breaking
of urns... and her shadow twin...
pandora...
           but... i can only think of...

Ernst Zimmer...
                  who kept... Hölderlin...
                in a room in a tower...
  overlooking the Neckar river in Tübingen...
freely...
           in light of both giving
some variation of consent...
i too would give all the world:
to be this... given this: ghastly cage(d)...
21st century hopes... hyperion?
to write new: new...
burn the old? to ask the same questions:
what's new is what's revised...

the spanish might have conquered
the "lesser" people of south america...
but at the same time...
the mongols: the lesser people...
clearly no affiliation with african
mothers and tatas...
conquered india... china... the muslim
empire... and teased christendom...
so... who's ode or what **** wits' boor
to baron the sodden crisp of...
moving... forward?
                       once upon a time...
all might kneel before the cruficix...
but before a converted brownie point count
so... glorious in his imaginary whip...
holding...

Eswatini will not... dream big...
the vatican of the continent: some might add...
will only welcome... easily converted...
castrato guards of the quasi-zulu king's harem...
big-****-para-bongo...
like... you hear it... and you're like...
'i'm pretty ******* sure...
some consonants are missing...'
the vowels might all be there...
but... thereafter?

                i don't even want to bother...
invade... india...
with latin script... you will get the sanskrit
backlash...
invade china... you'll get back...
your letters eaten by ideograms...
invade saudi arabia... giggles-and-squiggles...
invade greece: they'll spit cyrillic back
at you...
invade anywhere with latin...
you'll get all you want...
until judgement day...
when the leeches will answer back...
and drag you back to... where you belong
with "them" having found "them"...

well... it was truly nice of you to give
us the 20th century...
mighty nice of you...
too bad... you won't be... culturally...
exporting anything new...
into the current century...
beside... the overlooked library;
which is doubly nice!
time will seem to extend beyond...
what smells nice in a boquet of
flowers and will start to...
be scented with broths and...
what you brought back from Rajastan
and the like.
          
don't fake it... you didn't bring back
the dough from Nepal...
the idea... you might have...
but the Nepalese lamas weren't throwing
a big think stink over... eating...
uncooked cookie dough...
of course minus the caribbean sugar: dodo!
so don't ben & jerry my ***...

very nice... fun nice...
               100 years from now...
               looking for a tomorrow is suicide.
Geof Spavins Oct 8
In the heart of the kitchen,
where pots clatter and steam whispers,
there lies a tale of humble beginnings,
a saga of peas and ham,
a symphony of flavours,
a dance of the mundane and the marvellous.

Oh, Pea and Ham Soup,
you are the unsung hero of the pantry,
the green knight in a ceramic bowl,
the warm embrace on a cold, dreary day.

Once upon a time,
in a land of bubbling broths,
a lonely pea dreamed of greatness,
of joining forces with the mighty ham,
to create a potion of comfort,
a brew of bliss.

The peas, so green and round,
rolled into the *** with a plop,
like tiny emeralds diving into a sea of broth,
their destiny intertwined with the smoky ham,
a partnership forged in the cauldron of culinary magic.

The ham, oh the ham,
with its rich, savoury whispers,
joined the peas with a sizzle, a pop, and a bang,
bringing tales of smoky adventures,
of hickory forests and salty seas.

Together they simmered,
in a slow waltz of flavours,
the peas softening,
the ham infusing,
a marriage of textures,
a union of taste.

Garlic and onions,
the mischievous twins,
danced around the ***,
adding their own flair,
a hint of mischief,
a touch of zest.

Carrots and celery,
the reliable companions,
joined the fray,
bringing crunch and colour,
a rainbow in the ***,
a feast for the eyes.

The broth bubbled and gurgled,
like a storyteller weaving a yarn,
each bubble a chapter,
each gurgle a verse,
in the epic of Pea and Ham Soup.

And when the time was right,
the ladle dipped in,
bringing forth a spoonful of history,
a taste of tradition,
a sip of solace.

Oh, Pea and Ham Soup,
you are more than just a meal,
you are a memory,
a comfort,
a friend.

In the quiet of the kitchen,
as the last spoonful is savoured,
the tale of Pea and Ham Soup lingers,
a story told in flavours,
a poem written in broth.
I made pea and ham soup for this one to make sense, a nod to my mother who taught me well.

— The End —